FC Dallas hires André Zanotta as Technical Director

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André Zanotta, former Grêmio executive director, has been hired as Technical Director for FC Dallas. He fills the vacancy created by Fernando Clavijo's official departure last spring, serving alongside Marco Ferruzzi, filling out the technical staff for the 2019 season. This move had been rumored back in December as part of negotiations over defender Bressan, during which it's believed the offer was made. Zanotta's contract with Grêmio was set to expire at the end of the year.

Zanotta brings a massive wealth of experience and an incredible resume, working for some of the biggest names in Brazilian soccer with numerous accolades over the years. In his native Brazil, Zanotta began his soccer career working as a contract lawyer for the Brazilian Football Federation, and worked as a director at Santos FC and Sport Recife before joining Grêmio.

Interesting to note, Zanotta's closest ties to the FC Dallas front office comes from his time spent with Traffic Sports. There, he worked with both his predecessor Fernando Clavijo as well as recently-departed soccer operations vice president Luiz Muzzi. Between his stint at Traffic and the negotiations that began last fall, Zanotta has likely been on the radar for FC Dallas for a while, with the real push made in the past two months. I would not be surprised to hear Clavijo himself recommending Zanotta personally.

This is yet another significant hire by the team to rebuild the technical staff, and leaves the team arguably looking stronger now than even in 2016. This also could lead to even more Brazilian talent making its way north over the coming seasons. In any case, I'm excited.